A Gambling Problem
by lon'quesadilla
Summary: With three quick bloops and bleeps, the machine's alarm started going off as three 7's appeared in the little front windows. It took him a moment to realize what had happened, before it dawned on him; he had won!


**a/n**: This was half inspired from the trip I just got back from (nothing like this happened but I had the concept of 'staying in a hotel' fresh in my mind) and half because I wanted to play with Kaito's gambling problem a bit in the worst kind of way :3c Also Phoenix finally got another appearance, yay! Enjoy! c:

* * *

It had been a long day of being in the car traveling home, so as soon as they had gotten checked into their little hotel and to their room, Maki had kicked her shoes off, grabbed the last pair of clean clothes she'd packed for the trip, and locked herself in the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed, leaving Kaito and their son to fend for themselves. Despite having driven for the better part of the day, Kaito still had some energy, and suggested that he and Phoenix take a walk around the downstairs casino, to stretch their legs and let Maki spend some time alone.

The boy had eagerly agreed to his father's proposition, the experience new and foreign to him. After grabbing one of the plastic room keys and giving a quick tap to the door to let his wife know what they were doing, Kaito and Phoenix were off on their adventure.

The casino/motel wasn't the fanciest place they could have picked to stay, but it wasn't too bad; the place was more of a middle of the desert resort for weary travelers than a Las Vegas five-star hotel. It was a place where they could sleep and recoup before embarking on the last leg of their journey home tomorrow.

But first, a little exploring.

"See if we can appease the Gambling Gods and win a little of our money back, huh?" Kaito said, looking down to his son as they rode the elevator down, who was looking eagerly back up at him.

"Yeah!" Phoenix agreed. "Can I try to win, too, dad?"

"Sorry buddy, you gotta be over 21 to play the slots," Kaito said, feeling a small pang of guilt at seeing his son's shoulders shrug slightly. "But hey, maybe you can be my good luck, and you standing by me will help us win."

The boy put on a smile again, giving his dad a nod.

"That's my boy," Kaito said, putting his hand on Phoenix's head and ruffling his hair a bit, making him laugh. The elevator reached the bottom floor then, and with a small ding they opened. Kaito led them out and onto the casino floor, where the smell of smoke and the noises of the machines quickly overtook the pair.

"Stay by me," Kaito said before they'd gotten too far in, reaching his hand to his son's side. Phoenix grabbed it and held tight; he did not want to get lost in this slot machine jungle.

Kaito led them to a row of machines about halfway though the building, instructing his son to stay put as he walked down the row and picked one of the bright, flashing machines at random. Phoenix obeyed, watching from afar as Kaito pushed a quarter through the slot and started playing. Only a few minutes later, he was five dollars in the hole.

Growing slightly bored of seeing his dad lose (and mutter some phrases under his breath that his mom told him were Bad Words), Phoenix shuffled on his feet, before another sight caught his eye.

It was a slot machine that was space themed, something he was immediately interested in due to his dad's influence on him. Giving a glance to his dad (who was still losing, he noted), he turned away and walked over to the slot machine.

His eyes went wide as he stood in front of it, the screen flashing with the words 'one free game' on it; it was practically drawing him in, begging him to pull the lever.

His heart beating quickly in his chest, Phoenix reached for the ball on the lever...and pulled it.

With three quick bloops and bleeps, the machine's alarm started going off as three 7's appeared in the little front windows. It took him a moment to realize what had happened, before it dawned on him; he had won!

He laughed, as the machine's alarm continued blaring. A security guard was the first on scene as Phoenix was still celebrating. He was surprised to see the little guy, and even more surprised to see what he was celebrating.

"Hey, buddy," he said, placing a hand on Phoenix's shoulder. "Where's your parents?"

"My dad is over there," Phoenix said, pausing his dancing and looking up at the man. His face suddenly dropped as he saw that the security guard was not dancing and celebrating with him. "W-why?"

"Come with me, son," he said, and Phoenix grabbed the man's hand, leading him over to where Kaito was. He now had his forehead pressed against the machine, lightly banging a fist against it.

He raised his head when he felt a tap on his back, and looked with surprise at his son and the man.

"Phoenix? What's going on?"

"Sir, I found him by one of the slot machines over there," the security guard explained, pointing over his shoulder. "He pulled the lever on one of them, and won."

Kaito's immediate reaction was exhilaration, before realizing the other part of what he'd been told. "Wait, he...won?"

"He got three sevens," the security guard said, "except...I think you're aware of the gambling age. And that he's obviously not there."

There was an awkward pause, as everything set in. Phoenix was looking between his dad and the security guard, scared and confused.

"Dad? Am I gonna go to jail?" Phoenix asked timidly.

"N-no, buddy, you're not," Kaito replied, "but-"

He looked to the security guard, not quite sure exactly what was going to happen.

"No, he won't go to jail, of course," the man replied, quelling that fear, "but I'm afraid you can't claim the prize, as it was won by an illegal pull. And I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave the casino floor now."

"I guess that's fair," Kaito said, looking wistfully at the machine that had stolen nearly fifty bucks from him at this point. "Come on, Phoenix, let's go see how your mom's doing back in the room."

"Okay, dad," Phoenix said, before looking back up to the security guard. "I'm really sorry, sir, I just wanted to try to help my dad win some of our money back."

The security guard chuckled, nodding at the boy. "It's okay, son. I think you've learned your lesson though, huh?"

Phoenix nodded, smiling back. "Yeah. Next time I'll wait until I can gamble."

"Good boy," the security guard said, before looking back up to Kaito. "Now, please move along."

Kaito nodded, turning to leave the machine with Phoenix in tow back to the room.

* * *

"He _what_?"

"I won the big prize, mama!" Phoenix repeated. "I pulled a slot machine and it came up three sevens but I couldn't take the money cuz I wasn't 'sposed to play in the first place."

Maki looked up to Kaito, awkwardly standing in the room's doorway and scratching the back of his neck. "Where were you when this was happening?"

"I was playing my own slot machine," Kaito replied, meeting her glare. "I told him to stay put, but, uh...I guess he got away from me."

Maki looked back to Phoenix, still smiling brightly right back at her. She sighed.

"Phoenix, when your dad tells you to do something, you need to listen and do it, okay?"

The boy nodded, his smile faltering a bit. "Okay, mama. Sorry."

"And you," Maki continued, looking to Kaito. "Try to watch him better next time instead of being lost in your own world."

Kaito nodded, moving from the doorway to the edge of the bed. "You got it."

"Good," Maki said. "Now, it's time for bed, Phoenix. We have a long day of driving again, tomorrow."

"I know, mama," the boy said, before giving a yawn. "I can't wait to get home."

He tiredly walked over to the smaller bed in the room, climbing up and into it and under the sheets. He was asleep quickly, tired out from the long day and all the action within the last hour.

Likewise, Kaito jumped onto the bed, crawling up it to Maki, who was still propped up with her arms crossed in front of her.

"I can't believe he won the big prize illegally," she said, as Kaito slipped in under the sheets beside her. "I don't know how to feel about this."

"I know," Kaito said, with a sigh. "That could have been me if I had just walked a little further."

"You probably wouldn't have won, he just got lucky."

"I could have won," Kaito said, suddenly sitting up, startling Maki. "I would have! I know it. I just needed to not give into temptation to the machine I stopped on, and I could—"

"Okay, okay, you could have won," Maki said, giving in, not feeling like hearing him rant and ramble about it. "But there's nothing we can do about it now, so let's just go to sleep. You're driving the first stretch."

"Fine," Kaito said, laying back down, moving to being on his back. He put his hands behind his head on his pillow, sighing as he looked up at the ceiling.

"I could have won, though."

Rolling her eyes, Maki settled in as well, tired from the day and eager to sleep. She knew it would be an even longer trip if she had to hear Kaito play the what-if game about winning for the rest of the ride home, and needed to be prepared for it.

* * *

**a/n**: thanks for reading! c:


End file.
